Brunei is a small nation. So there is no reason why the food delivery service is so poor compared to other countries. Bigger cities have to deal with heavy traffic, and yet are able to get the orders to the door in less than 20 minutes. In Brunei, even when the restaurant is only five to eight minutes away, it is common for the food to arrive at least 45 minutes later.
I believe the root cause is that these food delivery companies would first accept a customer order, then see if there is a driver for the delivery. The driver is chosen based on availability rather than the proximity to the customer. So even if they are quite a distance away, as long as they are willing, the order will be given to them. So drivers are not the problem; it’s the system itself.
Despite the poor service, these companies often only take orders that are BND15 and above, and at a charge of BND3-5 per delivery. By the time the food arrives 45 minutes to an hour later, it is already stone cold.
I have taken up the issue with these companies, and each time, the response is an apology and a promise to do better next time. Yet, they continue to provide poor delivery service, taking advantage of customer loyalty to keep them in business.
Whenever I hear that one of these companies is struggling to stay afloat, my thought is: why don’t they make use of the opportunity to improve? All they have to do is find out what their customers want and revise their system to please them. Instead, they rest on the fact that their delivery service is the same as their competition’s, so there is no reason to change their operations.
Unhappy Customer
